Agent Wallflowersan
by arkanghel22
Summary: Kyoko has a journalist-friend? Everybody else is suspicious except of course, Kyoko. How do you protect a clueless actress with secrets from a possible enemy masquerading as a friend?
1. Chapter 1

AGENT WALLFLOWER

_Kyoko has a journalist-friend? Everybody else is suspicious except of course, Kyoko. How do you protect a clueless actress with secrets from a possible enemy masquerading as a friend?_

Disclaimer: I do not own Skipbeat!

CHAPTER 1

"Sorry for waiting, Ren. I had to make some calls about your schedule," Yashiro blurted out as he hurriedly climbed in the passenger seat.

"It's okay, I wasn't waiting too long," The handsome actor said in understanding. The photographer in the shoot Tsuruga Ren was supposed to do today had reported in sick and won't be able to go to work for a couple of days, so he had some unexpected free time at the moment.

Yashiro glanced at his notebook. "The people from TBM wanted you to guest in a talk show today, I originally declined because of your schedule but since you're free now, I called them up and said you can do the job. Is that okay?"

Ren just nodded in acquiescence as he pulled off from the parking lot. Yashiro told him that he was supposed to show up at TBM in an hour but they had to swing by LME first so Ren veered the car towards their first destination. He waited for his manager to continue, since Yashiro was prone to ramble on and on about his schedule among other things, but his manager just stared at him expectantly.

"What?" Ren asked curtly, a bit irritated with his companion's eager look.

"You're not going to ask who you're guesting with?" Yashiro asked, a big grin spreading over his face.

Ren stoically stared ahead. "Judging from the look in your face, I'm pretty sure I can guess" he muttered.

"What?" Yashiro asked, frowning. "Stop mumbling, it's unbecoming on Japan's number 1 actor…"

"It's Mogami Kyoko, right?" he cut in before Yashiro could say something more.

Yashiro's fan girl grin was back. "YES!" he crowed happily. "And I called her up for you to ask if she needed a ride," he said.

Ren didn't know if he was more exasperated or happy. Yashiro had just developed a hands-on approach about his love life. He was constantly bugging him about Kyoko and arranging his schedule so that he could see her. Not that he was complaining about being able to see her, it was just exasperating to see a grown man acting like a ridiculous matchmaker.

"So we're going to LME to pick up Mogami-san?" he asked drily, trying to hide his elation from his manager.

"Yes… and the other Box-R girls," Yashiro added sheepishly. Ren merely glanced at him but Yashiro started profusely apologizing.

"I'm sorry! I asked Kyoko-chan if she needed a ride since we're going to TBM anyway and she immediately agreed. I thought it was strange because it takes a bit of coaxing before making her accept anything, and then she started thanking me for giving "THEM" a ride. Turns out all the Box-R girls are guesting at 'Tea-talk' with you.

"So basically I'm now a chauffeur for a bunch of girls," Ren lightly said as he navigated his way to the front of the LME building. The handsome actor had a gentlemanly smile on his face, but Yashiro could feel a cold aura emanating from him. It was spooking him out.

As soon as Ren slowed down in front of the parking lot, Yashiro was out of the door in a flash. "I'll go look for the girls, Ren. You stay here, I'll be right back!" he said hurriedly.

Ren watched Yashiro scamper off, and he ruefully chuckled to himself. If he managed to frighten off his manager like that, he'd better fix his mood real quick because his precious little kouhai seemed to uncannily detect his moods even when he tried to hide behind a smile. And who knows how she'll react. She'll probably blame it on herself again, he thought wryly.

Speaking of his precious kouhai, there she was walking towards him, looking beautifully poised in the school uniform which was her costume in Box-R. No need to fix his mood, Ren thought. She brightened it for him just by being there.

Kyoko cheerfully waved as she came nearer. Ren gestured for her to climb right in the car.

"Tsuruga-sempai! How are you doing? It's so kind of you to offer us a ride!" she said, giving him a big smile as she climbed through the backseat door. Ren discreetly watched her, he hadn't seen her for a couple of days now because of his busy schedule, and he hadn't realized how that had affected him. Just now, he could feel some knot inside him slowly relaxing as he gazed at Kyoko.

"It's my pleasure, Mogami-san. I'm headed there anyway," he answered warmly.

"Have you been waiting long? I hurried down because I knew you'd be early to pick us up," she asked worriedly.

"No, as a matter of fact, we just got here. Yashiro just went inside to fetch you girls"

The two chatted amiably as they waited for the others. But although Kyoko acted cheerful, Tsuruga Ren could feel the nervousness emanating from the back seat. He glanced up his rear view mirror to look at the orange- haired young girl sitting alone, subconsciously wringing her hands. For a moment, he had an overwhelming urge to haul her over to his lap, take those hands in his and whisper to her ear that everything's going to be alright. And maybe he could sneak in a kiss or two while comforting her.

But that's not going to happen any time soon, and it's not just because Yashiro was about to come back now with the rest of the Box-R girls. He inwardly sighed in frustration.

If he could have his way, he'd be cuddling her and kissing her until she was back to her usual bubbly self again, instead, he just cleared his throat and focused on the job at hand.

"Anything wrong, Mogami-san?" he asked softly.

Kyoko jumped up in surprise. When she saw him looking at her through the rearview mirror, she smiled ruefully.

"I guess I can't fool you at all, Tsuruga-san. After all, you ARE my sempai," she said. Ren chuckled although her last statement rankled him.

"You can tell me anything that's bothering you, you know," he said. He watched as she seemed to struggle with herself. She had a cute pout on her lips as she stared on some random area in front of her. Then she suddenly met his gaze through the mirror, and spoke out in a huff.

"I'm afraid the people are going to hate me… I mean, Natsu," she said worriedly. "We're supposed to guest in that talk show as our Box-R characters, but… but Natsu is a bully, you know… Who would want to see a bully?" she looked at him beseechingly.

Ren scrambled to gather his scattered wits. With Kyoko looking at him with those puppy-dog eyes, his brain was refusing to do any coherent thought at all. But he had to give her a good answer, he couldn't let her down.

"Mogami-san… you love your character Natsu, right?" he asked.

Kyoko nodded eagerly.

"Why do you love your character?" he asked.

Kyoko paused to think for a moment, and gave him a slight smile. "It because she's elegant, beautiful, classy, confident and cunning. She knows what she wants and she's not afraid to do anything to get it. She's very strong-willed, that's why it's really fun to act as her," she answered.

Ren rewarded her with a smile of his own. "Well, there you have it," he said simply.

"Huh?" Kyoko said in confusion.

"Mogami-san, the fans of Box-R love and 'love to hate' your Natsu. Yes, she's a bully but you've also managed to show them her beautiful, elegant, confident and strong-willed side. People admire that about your character. And also, you don't have to worry about the fans not liking Natsu because the people at TBM wouldn't invite Natsu to a talk show if they didn't like her."

Kyoko stared at Ren consideringly. Then she broke into a sunny smile.

"Yes, you're right, Tsuruga-san! Natsu is really great! Who wouldn't like a strong-willed girl like her?" she said happily. Ren heaved a sigh of relief since he was able to soothe Kyoko's nerves satisfactorily, but he balked at her next quip. The temperature at the backseat had also seemed to drop a few degrees.

"Natsu will just beat anyone to death who doesn't like her," Kyoko said in a cold Natsu-like voice.

Fortunately, Yashiro and the other girls finally arrived and piled into the car, and Kyoko returned to her cheerful, bubbly self again.

-o-o-o-o-

Monobu Kenta wondered what he was really doing in the crush of people in front of a big building with a big TBM emblazoned on it. Some people held placards that had something written like "Natsu you're the best!" or "We love you Mio!" or "Kyoko No. 1!" Then there were others that had "Marry me Ren!" or some other ridiculous message like that.

Well, he was standing in the middle of a group of fans obviously, thus the silly placards. But he had never followed Showbiz buzz before, so he was wondering why he got assigned to this. His first newspaper article in his first ever job and it's just some fluffy showbiz crap, he thought darkly. He scowled when an overeager teenager jostled him forward. The offending party didn't even notice him at all, his whole attention trained to the front. Kenta inwardly sighed, he didn't even get why all these people were excited to see a bunch of actors. They were just pretty faces anyway. In his own opinion, Showbiz was just a waste of time.

But this was a job. His first ever article for his first ever job. His opinions didn't matter. He's supposed to cover a guesting of the Box-R girls in a show called 'Tea Talk with Hino-chan'. But how was he to do that when he didn't know who these actors are? Hell, he didn't know what to do at all.

Should he interview one of the fans? Should he ask them what the hell he was doing here and who the heck are they waiting for, and reveal what a big showbiz idiot he is? He cursed Sato-san again for all this. He had just appeared at his desk an hour ago and told him he was covering this assignment. Ignoring his pleas that he didn't follow showbiz at all, his supervisor booted him out of the office and told him to get a story or he was fired. He didn't even give him time to research Box-R, Natsu, or… what was that name again… right, Kyoko.

"I don't care what you have to do, I'm paying you to do something so get me something worthwhile for my paper! Don't bother to come back unless you have something good to show me!" he remembered Sato-san growling out as he tossed him a camera and pushed him out the door.

He was as good as fired.

Suddenly, somebody started yelling and the crowd surged forward excitedly, taking Monobu with them. He struggled to hold his ground, but finally gave up and just held up his camera away from the flailing mass of fans. He was carried almost up to the front, so he was able to see a group of girls followed by a tall handsome man and his manager walking sedately towards the entrance.

The crowd screamed out different names, hoping to get the actors to look at them. The handsome man at the back looked gracious as he smiled and waved at the crowd, but the girls just gave haughty, sidelong smirks at the people and just walked on by. Oddly, the fans seemed to love it, and screamed out even more. Monobu shook his head. What the heck, did these girls think they're so hot they could treat their fans like garbage? Well, they ARE pretty hot, in that unbelievable school uniform that accentuated the girls' natural assets. I mean look at those legs in that short skirt!

Monobu took pictures as they came nearer to where he was standing. He figured this was the best he can do anyway. Hopefully, he'd get a good enough shot that could save his career so he can redeem himself next time he's given a chance. "If only the girls would turn their heads for a good shot!" he irritably thought. So far, no such luck even though the fans were practically begging to be acknowledged.

The girls were all stunning to look at, haughty smirks and all, but his attention seemed to be pulled towards the short-haired girl, apparently the leader of the group. The other girls seemed to be hanging on to everything she did. Who wouldn't? Everything about her screamed refined elegance, from the tip of her stylish short hair down to her polished, heeled shoes. And there was something else… She had an air of fierce confidence around her, like she could crush anyone she wished if she wanted to. The way she moved made him think of a shark – unpredictable and dangerous beautiful.

But something seemed awfully familiar about her. Was she someone he knew before? Monobu frowned to himself. He was pretty sure he'd never forget a girl as stunning as the one walking in front of him... she had presence that made sure you never forget. But still…

The actors were walking right in front of Monobu now and were almost at the building entrance when the short haired girl momentarily paused. She half turned to the crowd and gave a languid wave. The fans went wild.

At that moment, Monobu saw her Golden brown eyes and gasped.

"Agent Wallflower-san!" he blurted out.

I

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_- Hi There! This is my first time writing a SkipBeat Fanfic. Hope you like it and leave reviews! I'd really appreciate it (really, I'd appreciate all the encouragement I can get) Thanks!_

_Uhhh… to clarify… this isn't a spy story, alright. I'll clear the title up in the next chapters._


	2. Chapter 2

AGENT WALLFLOWER

_Kyoko has a journalist-friend? Everybody else is suspicious except of course, Kyoko. How do you protect a clueless actress with secrets from a possible enemy masquerading as a friend?_

Disclaimer: I do not own Skipbeat!

CHAPTER 2

The actors were walking right in front of Monobu now and were almost at the building entrance when the short haired girl momentarily paused. She half turned to the crowd and gave a languid wave. The fans went wild.

At that moment, Monobu saw her Golden brown eyes and gasped.

"Agent Wallflower-san!" he blurted out.

Suddenly, her gaze latched on to his. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw her brows momentarily quirk in a frown, then her eyes suddenly lit up in surprise, and then she broke into a totally gorgeous smile.

FLASH!

And then it was gone. One of the girls linked arms with the golden eyed girl and pulled her forward. And he wasn't even sure if it really happened.

Did she hear him? The fans were yelling and roiling with excitement twice as before. It seemed impossible to be heard above the yells of "I love you Natsu!" and "Natsu you're the best!". The handsome actor had moved right behind the girls, apparently herding them faster to the front and also providing a shield from any too enthusiastic fan while his manager faced the crowd and tried to pacify them. The fans surged forward just as the actors fortunately reached the entrance, and Monobu was pushed out to the back. He stood alone in a daze, clutching his camera.

"Could she be…" he started to think but then just shook his head. Someone like that beautiful and elegant creature couldn't have possibly come from his high school in Kyoto. With that, he turned around and started walking back to the office.

-o-o-o-o-

There. He had done his best. He had pulled some information from the internet about Box-R and the actors he saw earlier and made an article as best he could with just the time frame he was given. He looked at his watch which said 10:18 pm and realized how late and tired he was. He stretched and finally stood up to turn over his camera and his article to the entertainment editor.

"Here's my piece," Monobu said as he laid down his camera in front of Shio-san, the entertainment editor. "I don't know if I still have a job tomorrow, but I just want to say it was great knowing you", he added wryly.

Shio-san was a friendly, cheerful, matronly woman who was the first one to befriend him when he started working here. Her cheerful, matronly demeanor was completely at odds with the way she looked though, because she liked wearing baggy, dark clothes and had numerous piercings all over her face. At first, Monobu was intimidated, but It seemed like this motherly person had taken a liking to him, and had basically adopted him. They barely saw each other though, because Shio-san went to the office late in the afternoon and stayed well through the night.

"Don't be like that, Monobu-kun," she said. "You're being too melodramatic!"

Monobu gave her a sickly smile. "I must confess I just took some generic information online about Box-R since I don't know crap about that show – or the actors. I don't watch a lot of TV, you see. But hopefully you can use one of the photos I took earlier, providing they're not crap like my article."

Shio-san rolled her eyes at him. "Such a depressing young man… You should be more lively, ya know being young and all that. I'm sure the article you made will be fine… and Sato-san won't be firing you anytime soon of course, that man is just plain rude but he doesn't really mean it," she said. She picked up the camera and started scrolling through the digital photos.

"Well… I don't want to keep you from your work…" Monobu reluctantly said. He started to feel embarrassed as he watched Shio-san closely examining the pictures he took. He briefly wondered if they were any good at all – he hadn't bothered to look through them when he got back to the office.

Shio-san just distractedly nodded, her attention still on the camera. "Sure, sure… see ya tomorrow…" she muttered faintly while waving a hand.

Shio-san and her work. It's hard to get her attention when she's started on something. Monobu still wanted to chat with her since he supposed this was going to be the last time he would be able to, but looks like it's out of the question. He sighed.

"Bye Shio-san. Have a great evening," he said politely as he walked away.

Shio-san was quite happy with the quality of the photos Monobu had taken. She was pretty sure she could use a bunch of them. Suddenly, her eyes widened when she came to the last one.

"Monobu-kun, this is grea-!" she exclaimed excitedly, glancing up.

"Aw, he went home already?" she muttered in disappointment, but she quickly perked up again. "You're in for a surprise tomorrow, Monobu-kun. You underestimate yourself too much…" she mutteredly slyly.

-o-o-o-o-

That night, Monobu dreamed about his high school days.

One thing Monobu liked to do was observe people. So when his father told him they were going to live somewhere else, he was excited. Surely, there will be new people to see, more interesting place to explore, right? But when his family relocated to Kyoto, Monobu found the place boring. There was nothing exciting going on. His school was just like his old school, his classmates were like the ones he had before. There were the usual high school cliques, the usual token popular kids and the usual nerds and bullies. Nothing new to interest him.

But then something happened.

It all started when he came back to school after getting sick with the flu for three days. As he was getting ready to go home, Monobu wondered if anyone in his class would let him borrow the notes from the time he was absent. Highly unlikely. They will be holding their exams next week, anyone in his right mind would rather die than lend their precious notes to a classmate and risk a low grade.

Suddenly, a sheaf of papers was thrust to him. He glanced at it in surprise.

"I made a copy of my notes from the time you were absent, Monobu-kun. Here," a soft voice he realized he'd never ever heard said. It was from his quiet, meek-looking seatmate, Mogami Kyouko.

"Oh… Uh, Thanks! I was wondering who'd let me borrow their notes since it's so close to exam time," he was a little flustered since he didn't expect this from someone he'd never spoken to at all.

"Don't worry about it," she answered cheerfully. She briefly raised her golden eyes to meet his and smiled before turning back her attention to arranging her bag. After a moment, she was gone.

That was it. He was floored. He had just seen the most gorgeous smile in his entire life.

The next day, Monobu wondered if he had been hallucinating. After glancing at his non-descript seatmate, he decided that he must have been mistaken, just an aftereffect of his bout with the flu. He was mentally putting away his interest on Mogami Kyouko when a guy from another class strode to her side and handed her a stack of books.

"Your friend Shotarou forgot to take these when he left our classroom, could you give it back?" he brusquely said as he motioned to the other side of the classroom where a flock of girls were already crowding around a handsome guy. Mogami politely nodded and gave him a smile.

"Sure, I'll bring this to him for you," she said as she stood up and walked away with the books.

Monobu saw the guy freeze in place and stare at Mogami's back with a stunned look on his face. Did she just show him THAT smile? Does that mean Monobu wasn't hallucinating? The guy finally shook his head as if clearing his mind and then slowly walked away. He kept looking back at Mogami, though, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

Monobu transferred his gaze back to the girl talking to the handsome guy with the fan girls. She looked utterly plain amidst the fluffed up hair and made-up faces of the other girls. How could such a gorgeous smile come from such a plain girl? Why haven't anyone noticed her before? Thinking back, Monobu could remember some other instances when a classmate or a teacher would suddenly look shocked while talking to this girl. Nobody ever said anything about it, though, and they acted as if nothing extraordinary had happened. Like it was too hard to believe.

A smile slowly spread on Monobu's face. He had found something exciting to look into.

Mogami didn't disappoint him. He found her so fascinating, his head hurt.

Once, Monobu once saw Mogami smile excitedly as she looked at her test paper and then school her face to a more sedate look as she went back to her seat. As she passed by Fuwa's desk, she congratulated him for getting high marks thus making their other classmates congratulate him as well. When he glanced at her desk, he saw 100 written on her previous test papers.

Another time, he discreetly watched as a group of Fuwa's most rabid fan girls rounded her up. The girls ranted and railed that she wasn't worthy to be Fuwa's childhood friend but she just meekly stood there nodding until the bullies lost steam. Then she suddenly flashed them a big smile and said she's so glad Fuwa had so many loyal fans like them and they should support him until he gets real famous. They left her in disgust.

Then there was that incident when he went back to the classroom to get some notebook he forgot and caught her compiling study materials alone. The teacher came by, saw the neatly done materials and asked her what she was doing when it was Fuwa's turn to do it. She answered that she was just helping and Fuwa had just gone off to the boy's room for a moment. That was a bald lie because Monobu had seen the popular guy strolling out of school with a group of other kids, but she looked so earnest that the teacher just nodded and accepted what she said.

She was like a chameleon trying to stay hidden. She always deflected attention from herself and towards Fuwa. What he wanted to know was why. He kept pondering about it but couldn't find an obvious answer. Maybe there's some dark reason she needs to keep? Is there some secret she was hiding? Was she protecting Fuwa from someone? Was he reading too much from all this? It was giving him a headache. Maybe he was letting his imagination get away from him, building up Mogami as if she was some kind of spy agent or something.

One Friday afternoon, Monobu was doing after-school research in the library for their English subject when he saw Mogami lurking by the bookshelves. She was trying to reach for a book on a shelf just out of reach from her petite self. When nobody seemed to be coming soon to assist her, Monobu reluctantly rose up from his seat.

"Is this the one you want?" he asked as he handed over the book she was apparently reaching for.

Mogami glanced up, startled. Monobu watched in bemusement as the non-descript girl persona dropped away as she gave him a gorgeous smile.

"Thank you, Monobu-kun. This is just the book I need," she answered.

"It's the combination of those big golden eyes and that easy smile that makes it gorgeous…" he thought abstractedly."How could she hide those in plain sight? It's amazing…"

"Agent Wallflower-san…" he murmured.

Mogami glanced up again in surprise, and then she started laughing uproariously. "A- Agent Wallflower-san? Why'd you call me that?" she sputtered out, clutching the book to her stomach as she laughed.

Monobu colored when he realized his faux-pas. He tried to think of some reasonable explanation but it seemed like Mogami didn't need an answer anymore. After laughing so hard, she wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and started conversing with him as if it was most natural thing in the world.

She was easy to talk to. They discussed about their English research papers and made suggestions with how to improve each other's articles. He found that he quite enjoyed going over his paper with her because she was funny and had pretty quirky ideas.

Finally, she glanced at her watch and gasped.

"I didn't know it was this late already!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry but I have to go home now, Monobu-kun," she said regretfully.

Monobu shrugged. "It's okay, I'm sure I need to head home, too" he said.

She quickly gathered her things and crammed them in her bag. As she slung her bag over her shoulder, she paused and grinned at him.

"Agent Wallflower-san…" she chuckled and Monobu blushed again, but her grin was so contagious he found himself grinning, too.

"Happy weekend!" she said.

"Yeah, I'll see you next week, Mogami-san," he answered. She gave him a friendly wave as she left the library. With that, she was gone.

But Monobu never got to talk to her again the next week, or the weeks after that. Because the following Monday, he found out that Mogami Kyouko and Fuwa Shotarou had ran away to Tokyo together.


	3. Chapter 3

AGENT WALLFLOWER

_Kyoko has a journalist-friend? Everybody else is suspicious except of course, Kyoko. How do you protect a clueless actress with secrets from a possible enemy masquerading as a friend?_

Disclaimer: I do not own Skipbeat!

CHAPTER 3

As per Sato-san's custom, there was a fresh cup of coffee and the day's newspaper waiting for him at his desk. Since he's the editor-in-chief of Tokyo Daily, he already knew the gist of what's going on in the newspaper, but he liked to reevaluate it at the same time as the rest of the Tokyo population were reading it.

He briefly scanned the articles to check if there was nothing amiss. As he reached for his coffee, he saw a pink post-it left on his desk.

"_Re-arranged the entertainment section a bit for Monobu-san's article - Shio-san_" it read.

He quickly flipped over to the entertainment section with a frown. When he found the section, his frown slowly turned into an approving grin.

Shio had bumped down some articles to make more space for Monobu's piece. It was a pretty bland article about the almost-stampede in front of the TBM building and then some generic information about the Box-R cast and Tsuruga Ren who also guested in the talk show yesterday. There was an accompanying picture of the handsome actor and also a group photo of the Box-R girls. But what really drew the attention was the bigger photo of Kyoko as Natsu apparently looking straight at the camera with a dazzling smile on her face. The photo caption read 'Natsu gives Love back to her Fans'.

If his intuition is correct, Tokyo Daily will be selling like hotcakes today.

-o-o-o-o-

"Wow, you're up early," Shouko commented as she sipped on her cup of coffee. A bleary-eyed young man paused at the bedroom door, nonchalantly scratched his belly, and then shuffled off to the toilet. After a few moments, he came back out, shuffled to the table, wherein Shouko handed him a coffee mug which he took a mouthful of. Then he shuffled back to the bedroom and reappeared with a towel that he brought with him to the bathroom. The sound of running water could then be heard as Shouko continued to sip her coffee and read the newspaper.

When a few minutes have passed, Shouko stood up, grabbed a change of clothes from the bedroom and went to the bathroom door. Just then, a hand shot out of the door and Shouko handed the clothes over. Then she went back to the table to wait some more. As she waited, a little frown started forming on her brow.

Sho, her Superstar charge, was usually predictable and pretty easy to manage most of the time. Despite his arrogant and somewhat childish character, he was quite dedicated to his music and could mostly be depended to do his job. Sure he had mood swings, but Shouko had learned how to handle them. After being with him for almost a year, she could detect his moods and could usually persuade and coax him back to work when needed. But there was just one thing she could never predict about Sho – and that's his reaction when a certain short-haired actress is concerned.

She stared at the smiling picture of Kyoko accompanying a short article in the newspaper she was reading and wondered if she should hide it or not.

Too late.

"What're you reading?" a fully recovered Fuwa Sho asked. He abruptly plucked the newspaper from her grasp and looked at it. Shouko watched with trepidation. He stared impassively at the photo before tossing it to the couch.

"So it's the idiot…" he said with a shrug. Shouko breathed a sigh of relief. At least he wouldn't be storming off to look for the actress again.

"I was checking if there were any gossip cropping up about you again," Shouko fabricated. "Anyway, it's about time we head over to the studio now. We're having a breakfast meeting with the producers." She stood up and grabbed her purse and the car keys.

"Can't you let me finish my coffee first?" Sho whined.

Shouko rolled her eyes, gestured for him to go on and went out the door. Sho hurriedly gulped down his lukewarm coffee before getting ready to leave. As he moved across the couch though, he slowed down and picked up the newspaper he had tossed away. He scanned the article and then quietly stared at the smiling girl for a few moments. He used to see that blinding smile everyday way back when. Now, everything he does to her just make her scowl. He carefully stuffed the newspaper in the pocket of his guitar case as strode out of the room.

-o-o-o-o-

When Ren arrived at L.A. Hearts, he was met with a rather odd looking Yashiro, who had a newspaper in one hand and a pair of scissors in another.

"Ren! Have you seen the newspaper? Have you? Have you?" he asked excitedly.

"And a Good morning to you too, Yashiro," Ren said calmly.

Yashiro reddened and tried to collect himself. "Yes, Good morning!" he said composedly, and then broke into a big grin again.

"So have you seen the newspaper?" he demanded.

Ren mentally rolled his eyes. His manager was acting like a hyperactive puppy so early in the morning. He fervently hoped it wouldn't last all through the day or he might seriously end up breaking something. He tried to ignore him as he placed an order with the waitress for coffee.

"No, I haven't. Is there something in there I should be concerned about?" he finally asked as he settled down on his seat. As answer, Yashiro slipped the folded newspaper in front of Ren.

"It's a very nice picture," Yashiro said slyly.

Ren briefly looked at the newspaper. "Me? That's nothing to get worked up about. I've had my pictures in the newspaper before."

Yashiro stared at him blankly, glanced at the smaller photo of Ren and then hurriedly flipped the newspaper. "No! I meant this! THIS is a very nice picture!"

Yashiro watched in satisfaction as Ren stared at Kyoko's smile for more than a second longer.

"I see… I'm glad Mogami-san's finally getting more recognition now," Ren said placidly and Yashiro pouted.

"It would be nice if you got more excited," Yashiro sulkily said. "Anyway, I'm going to cut this out for you even if you don't ask me to. Because I'm a good manager."

Ren wondered where the connection between being a good manager and cutting a newspaper clipping for him was. Just then, the waitress sidled over with his coffee. As Yashiro claimed the newspaper again, Ren caught a last fleeting glance of Kyoko. Her voice demanding if he'd eaten breakfast yet echoed in his mind.

"I'd like to order some sausage and eggs, please." He said to the waitress, and then to Yashiro,"I think we have some time before our meeting with the president, so we might as well have some breakfast first."

Yashiro glanced down at the Newspaper, and then at Ren. "Wow, Kyoko-chan's amazing. Even her picture alone can make you eat," he whispered. "I'm sooo going to use this next time you skip lunch."

Ren glared at him. Maybe it's about time to change the subject, Yashiro belatedly thought.

"Errr… I'll have what he's having, and another coffee for me, too" Yashiro hurriedly said to the waitress to avoid looking at his companion.

"So let's go over your schedule for today…"

-o-o-o-o-

Monobu couldn't believe that his first article for Tokyo Daily could be such a hit.

Well, not really his article since it was just a bunch of stuff he took from the web. But his classmates in the university were very enthusiastic about the pictures he took, especially of Natsu.

"That was your first article for Tokyo Daily, right? You really got us buzzing, congratulations!"

"Maaaan, that picture you took was sweeeeeet!"

"Your boss might give you a job in the news section now like you originally asked, eh?"

"I never knew Natsu could smile so prettily like that, and you were the one who captured it in a shot! Congratulations! She always has that kinda half-smile or that smirk, though she's hot like that."

"Yeah, come to think of it Kyoko doesn't have a lot of smiling photos at all, noh? They always show her scowling or worse, that creepy smile."

"Say, Monobu-kun! How close were you to her when you took the picture? Get me an autograph next time!"

"Yeah, me too! And Tsuruga Ren's too!"

Monobu didn't have any idea what they were talking about at first until they showed him his newspaper article. He stared agape at his own photo and his classmates were more impressed when he told them that his shot of Kyoko was purely accidental. Somebody commented that he must be quite lucky since his first piece was causing a big stir.

"You'll be some big shot real soon, I'm sure! Don't forget us little people!" a girl joked, causing Monobu to blush.

By the end of his last class, Monobu was feeling full of himself. But the feeling wasn't meant to last long.

"I was right about you! That photo you took of Natsu was magnificent! You have the makings of a great paparazzi! A natural stalker!" Sato-san said proudly, thumping Monobu at the back. Monobu grinned although he wasn't sure if he should be happy to be called a natural stalker, whatever that was.

"S-so, Sato-san… Will I get assigned to news articles now?" Monobu asked eagerly. The room suddenly seemed chillier than usual.

"Eh?" Sato-san halted in mid-step. "You do know that the article you wrote is crap itself, right? The only redeeming factors were the pictures you took. And now you actually want to be assigned to news?" Sato-san's voice turned icier with every word he said. He turned around and loomed over Monobu , poking him hard on the chest.

"I decide WHEN you can write news articles, WHEN you deserve to write news articles, and IF you should write news articles! And your years away from THAT! Got it, hot shot?" he growled.

Monobu mutely nodded. Sato-san straightened up but kept glaring silently at the young man. Monobu started fidgeting as the awkward silence stretched between them. Suddenly, Sato-san marched back to his seat behind the desk.

"Tell you what… I'll give you a chance to prove yourself," he said slyly.

"If you can find me a real juicy showbiz article story, I'll let you do news articles. You can pick anybody as subject as long as it's about showbiz, it's all up to you. What do you say? Do we have a deal?"

A smile slowly spread on his face as he got an idea. "Piece of cake!" Monobu thought smugly. He had the cat in the bag with his knowledge about Mogami Kyouko and Fuwa Shotarou. Wasn't running away from home with a guy pretty juicy stuff?

"Sure thing, boss!" Monobu said eagerly as he stood up. "I won't come back until I get a story!"

Sato-san tossed him the camera and growled, "You CAN'T come back until you get a story, kid. Don't bother, because then you're fired."

-o-o-o-o-

"Good morning, Kyoko-san!" Chiori greeted her Love Me sempai. They were in the locker room and she had just finished slipping into her shocking pink jumpsuit uniform and was just waiting for the other Love Me members to arrive. In her hands she held a newspaper opened to the entertainment section.

"Good morning, Chiori-san!" Kyoko chirped back as she opened her locker to deposit her bag. "Do you have any acting jobs today?" she asked conversationally. She took out her own shocking pink uniform and started slipping into it.

"Oh, I'm supposed to attend a casting call later in the afternoon, but I'm free this morning," she answered with an indifferent wave of her hand. She looked excited about something else, but she restrained herself until Kyoko was finished changing.

When Kyoko finally closed her locker, Chiori jumped up eagerly.

"Have you seen the paper, Kyoko-san? We're in it! Especially you! Look!" she thrust the paper in front of Kyoko's face.

Kyoko also started jumping excitedly, but then her eyes widened as she gave a good look at the page Chiori was holding out and the expression on her face turned to horror.

"Why is he -? Why am I -? Why is the group shot -?" Chiori heard Kyoko sputter out unintelligibly in anger. Chiori was confused. Shouldn't she be happy they were featured, especially her?

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…!"

Before Chiori knew it, Kyoko was out the door and screaming through the halls like a banshee.

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_- Hi everyone! Thank you for the really kind comments! I'm really glad you like my story so far. Monobu and Kyoko WILL meet, I promise. I'm scrambling to get the next chapter out._

_It's very encouraging to read the reviews, it gives me the energy to struggle to put my topsy-turvy ideas into words. So please leave some more. Thanks!_


	4. Chapter 4

AGENT WALLFLOWER

_Kyoko has a journalist-friend? Everybody else is suspicious except of course, Kyoko. How do you protect a clueless actress with secrets from a possible enemy masquerading as a friend?_

Disclaimer: I do not own Skipbeat!

CLIP! CLIP! CLIP! CLIP! CLIP!

The lawn in front of the LME building was a usual hangout for people who wanted to unwind. It was nice and relaxing especially for the office-going crowd who were always cooped in bland concrete rooms, and it also had an added bonus because you might occasionally see a popular movie star or a TV personality if you were lucky.

But not today.

Today, the lawn was almost barren except for some stragglers who were studiously avoiding a very morose gardener wearing a hot pink jumpsuit and wielding a pair of wicked-looking garden shears.

"This is punishment, Kyouko, so you better make this hedges look immaculate!" muttered the pink-clad gardener to herself. She paused and critically looked at her work before continuing on.

"How could you break character AND get caught like that?" she sharply snipped at an offending branch.

"Natsu doesn't smile like that!" she snipped at another branch.

"And why is your picture bigger than Tsuruga-san's? Tsuruga-san is the NO. 1 actor in Japan! How dare you do such a thing!" she snipped some more at the poor hedge.

"Because your picture is so big, even the Box-R cast picture is too tiny! What do you say to that?" the morose gardener started clipping like crazy until she finally realized that there were more leaves on the ground than on the hedge itself.

"TAKARADA-SAN! WHY DIDN'T YOU PUNISH ME?" she started bawling out, startling the few visitors left in the premises.

**CHAPTER 4**

"The photo didn't hurt your career, Kyoko-san, in fact I think it's making you more talked about, so there's no need to apologize," Takarada Lory, the president of LME said kindly when she rushed over to apologize after seeing the newspaper article. He was currently dressed as a monk, complete with brown hood and prayer beads. He made a gesture as if he was blessing her.

"But I broke character! Natsu would NEVER smile like that for a photo! And why do I have a solo shot anyway? And Tsuruga-sempai's picture is too small, even the picture of Natsu is bigger! I'm really sorry, Takarada-san, please punish me!" Kyouko wailed.

Takarada chuckled. "No, Kyoko-san. There's nothing to complain about so don't worry yourself," he said. "Have some bread and goat cheese before you go, my dear..."

In the end, the President refused to give Kyouko any punishment even when Kyouko pleaded over and over again. She dragged her feet as she left the office, still feeling guilty. The President was too charitable to her, letting her off after making such a big blunder (in her opinion) like that. She should be punished.

Kyouko squared her shoulders, she'll find some way to make it up for her mistakes. She looked around for something to do and espied the LME lawn. It looked like it could use some trimming. With that, she set out with renewed vigor.

-o-o-o-o-

CLIP! CLIP! CLIP! CLIP! CLIP!

"What's wrong with this info? This couldn't be right," Monobu thought desperately.

He was sitting on his favorite sunny, quiet patch of grass hidden behind some hedges with his laptop in front of him, but his calm surroundings didn't mirror his sinking feeling. He had been researching on Fuwa and Mogami since he'd left the editor-in-chief's office and it was not turning out well.

Fuwa Shotarou, who was now known as Fuwa Sho, was very easy to find. The current no.1 music idol had hundreds of sites about him. Aside from some general information, Monobu quickly found out that Sho burst in the music business 2 years ago. He signed in with Akatoki and won his fans over with his good looks and great songs. His albums were always hits, and his songs were always on top of the charts. He was well-liked not only by his fans, but also by the people who have worked with him because, as they, said 'he's very dedicated to his work'.

In contrast, when Monobu researched 'Mogami Kyouko', he only got one entry and that was a student registration list from his old high school.

When he googled 'Kyoko', he got a fair amount of hits connected to Box-R and also Dark Moon, another TV show that she was co-starring in. There were a lot fan sites giving glowing remarks about Natsu and Mio, the characters she played in the respective shows. She had also appeared in a Kyurara Commercial and Fuwa Sho's Prisoner PV.

The only other relevant thing he had unearthed about Kyoko after some exhaustive clicking was that she had joined LME just a year ago.

Just a year ago? Shouldn't it be 2 years ago, just like Sho since they had ran away to Tokyo together 2 years ago? And why was Sho with Akatoki and Kyoko with LME? Wouldn't it make more sense if they were together in one company? And what's with the rumor in a fansite that Kyoko and Sho had been openly hostile with each other while working on the Prisoner PV? That's completely opposite of the Mogami Kyouko he knew from high school!

"Does that mean Mogami Kyouko isn't Kyoko?" Monobu uncertainly asked himself.

"TAKARADA-SAN! WHY DIDN'T YOU PUNISH ME?"

CLIP CLIP CLIP CLIP CLIP CLIP!

Monobu jumped in surprise when he heard the shout and felt something pass disconcertingly close to his scalp. He whirled around and stumbled away defensively. Then his eyes landed on the wide-eyed, short-haired girl dressed in a hot pink jumpsuit.

As he gaped at her, tufts of hair flew down around him. His eyes turned to the gently falling hair, and then to the girl staring at the top of his head with horrified fascination. His hand unwilling drifted up to his head. Then their eyes met, and both screamed in unison.

"WALLFLOWER-SAN?" he yelled in disbelief.

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I didn't mean to cut your hair, Monobu-san! Let me make up to you!" Kyoko frantically wailed, moving closer with her garden shears.

Monobu dodged her quickly. "No, no, it's okay, Mogami-san! You don't have to," he hastily said. They spent some time apologizing and dodging each other until they were both out of breath.

As Kyoko dropped down to her knees in exhaustion, she glanced up at Monobu again. Her lips quirked in a small grin which she tried to control as she looked at how evenly straight the top of Monobu's head was. He looked like some old-school American rapper or something. Her shoulders started to shake with the strain to hold the laughter in. After a while, she finally gave up and started laughing hard while holding her belly and pointing at his head.

Monobu had been cautiously eyeing the girl kneeling on the grass. When she started laughing at his expense, he was initially offended, but her laughter was so contagious he found himself chuckling ruefully along with her.

"How come you always make me laugh like that?" Kyoko asked while wiping her eyes, then she caught sight of his hair again and she was off laughing all over again.

Monobu endured her amusement. The girl in front of him was now more like the girl he talked with in the library before and less like the quiet, unassuming classmate he initially thought she was. But she was nowhere like the Natsu he saw yesterday.

They may have the same eye color and short hair, but this laughing, pink-clad girl rolling in the grass didn't have any of that elegant refinement of the actress he saw yesterday. She didn't have that fierce attention-grabbing aura either. And why would a fast-rising TV star be outside in a garish pink jumpsuit trimming hedges? Coupled with the information he had gathered earlier, Monobu unwillingly came to a conclusion.

Mogami Kyouko is definitely not Kyoko.

Isn't she?

-o-o-o-o-

After making sure that Monobu hadn't suffered any other injuries except for his untimely haircut, Kyouko finally collected herself and went back in the building to get a bonnet for him. Then they set out for a hair salon to get his hair properly trimmed and had to endure another laughing fit from the hairstylist and more profuse apologies from Kyouko. As if the apologies weren't enough, Kyouko treated him to lunch afterwards and promised she would cook for him next time when her schedule wasn't so hectic. She finally calmed down when Monobu said that all was forgiven as long as she'd let him hang around with her when he wasn't busy. She immediately agreed.

Monobu didn't know why he asked that. He decided it was okay to hang around Kyouko while he thought of another story to pursue. Besides, what better place to find a story than LME, one of the leading companies in the entertainment industry?

They got to talking as easily just like the old times. As they ate lunch together, Monobu found himself talking about his decision to move to Tokyo after high school so that he can study Journalism. He also mentioned his part-time work in Tokyo Daily as a Journalist, in which Kyouko looked at him with admiration.

"So you're famous? That's so great!" she gushed out.

Monobu reddened. "No, not really. I've just published one article after all."

"But still, getting published would mean a lot of people must've seen your name in the newspaper!" she said with conviction. Monobu just shrugged, but inwardly he felt puffed up with her praise.

"Currently, I'm assigned to cover the entertainment business, but I'm not really familiar with showbiz stuff so I'm having a hard time" he confessed.

"Well, maybe I can help you with that," Kyouko said cheerfully. "I've learned a bit since I joined LME. Maybe I can fill you in some stuff you don't know."

"Really? That would be great!" Monobu suddenly felt more optimistic about his job.

"Enough about me… So, what about you, Mogami-san? What have you been doing all this time?" he asked.

"Well, I'm working in LME, in the Love Me Section, as you can see with my uniform," she gestured to her garish pink jumpsuit with a grimace."It's like a Reserve Section, but most of the time I do a lot of odd jobs to get people's approval. It's some form of training, I guess. The President decides when I'm fit to graduate, in the meantime I do stuff around the office when I have the time."

'Glorified Janitorial Staff?' Monobu thought to himself.

Suddenly, Kyouko started shaking violently. Alarmed, Monobu was wondering what to do when Kyouko pulled out her phone and turned off the vibrate.

"It's Moko-san… Oh, I have to get back to the office," she looked at Monobu apologetically. "It was great talking to you again, Monobu-san," she said.

"Oh. Ummm… I'll drop by LME again, that is, if it's alright with you?" Monobu hesitantly asked.

Kyouko gave him a big smile. "Sure! I'll show you around the office!" she said enthusiastically.

She finally stood up and bowed to him. "I had a great talking time having lunch with you. I'll see you around, Monobu-san!"

With a final wave, she rushed off and left Monobu feeling a bit forlorn.

-o-o-o-o-

"That was a spectacular performance, Ren," Yashiro said.

Ren graciously accepted his praise. It was the end of the work day and they had just finished a meeting with the LME President and a movie director about a potential project for Ren, but the meeting had ended in an uncertain note.

"I don't understand why Takarada-san still has reservations for you to act as BJ. You nailed it back there! Even the director was impressed!" Yashiro said indignantly.

"I'm sure the President has very good reasons. He is only thinking what's best for my career after all." Ren replied with a gentlemanly smile.

"There's still another test anyway, I'll just show him that I can really do it."

Yashiro peeked at Ren. It didn't show on his face, but Yashiro was sure Ren must be disappointed. The President had been uncharacteristically reticent about giving him this movie role as the antagonist. Most of the time, he would let Ren choose whatever character he liked since Ren was really a good actor and also a great judge of projects that would be beneficial for his career. But today, he had expressed his concern that Ren might NOT BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE ROLE. It filled Yashiro with indignation that someone, much less the LME President would think something like that of Tsuruga Ren, Japan's No. 1 actor.

Sure, this would be a very big gamble since this would be the first role he would ever play as a bad guy. If this movie bombed, Ren's career as a leading man would be really affected. But judging by the performance Ren showed earlier in the meeting, he could really deliver the part. So why doesn't Takarada-san want Rent to do the role?

"You're scowling so much, your eyebrows are turning into one line," Ren commented.

"What?" Yashiro said blankly, temporarily forgetting why he was mad. Then he scowled at Ren. "I'm getting mad for your sake, Mr. Japan's No. 1 actor! Now I'm too wound up because you always need to put that stupid 'gentleman' smile on your face! Let's go, I need to relax!" Yashiro stomped off, followed by a chuckling Ren.

It's true that Ren felt disappointed about the meeting, but he had decided that he shouldn't dwell on it. It would be better to just look ahead and put out all his skills in acting in the next test that the LME President wanted to give him. And Yashiro was already mad enough for the two of them anyway.

"If this wasn't supposed to be a secret, I'd tell Kyoko-chan all about it and she can show Takarada-san the definition of indignation!" Yashiro muttered darkly.

Speaking of his kouhai, Ren noticed that Yashiro was leading him to the Love Me room.

"Yashiro, why are we here? You're not actually going to tell Mogami-san, right?" Ren asked carefully.

"Tell me what?" Kyouko asked inquisitively.

Ren and Yashiro abruptly stopped in their tracks when they saw the three Love Me members standing in front of their locker room. Kanae and Chiori held a bunch of papers while Kyoko was empty-handed.

"Good afternoon Tsuruga-san, Yashiro-san!" Kyouko cheerfully greeted the two men. Kanae and Chiori echoed her greeting but with more reservation.

"Good afternoon, Mogami-san," Ren warmly greeted his favorite kouhai before also acknowledging the other two girls.

"Kyoko-chan! Hi! Uh…" Yashiro, caught off-guard, started scrambling for some excuse for dropping by.

"Did you want to tell me something?" Kyouko prompted.

"Looks like the three of you are busy with something. Did we drop by at a wrong time?" Ren cut in smoothly.

"Oh, no. We just came from Sawara-san's office. Moko-san and Amamiya-san received their new Love Me assignments but Sawara-san said the President will need to brief me himself for my own assignment," Kyouko said. That explained the woe-begotten looks of the two girls behind her.

"Really? May I ask…" Yashiro started to say when Kanae threw a piercing look at him.

"NO, YOU MAY NOT!" she said icily. "Now, if you'll excuse us…," Kanae glared at Yashiro as she opened the door and stormed in.

"Moko-san…" Kyouko called out worriedly.

"I'm sorry for Kotonomi-san's behavior," Chiori said apologetically. Yashiro transferred his attention to the third Love Me member who was about to go in the room, too.

"That's alright," Yashiro answered sheepishly, "so may I ask…"

"NO, YOU MAY NOT!" Chiori gave the manager a glare identical to Kanae's and also disappeared into the room.

Yashiro blanched. Two girls had just walked out on him.

"Amamiya-san!" Kyoko worriedly called out to the other girl. She was about to follow when Yashiro blocked her path.

"Kyoko-chan! Please don't walk out on me, too! I'm sorry!" Yashiro blurted out to Kyouko who just looked bewildered. She reluctantly patted Yashiro's head as if he was a distressed puppy. Ren could barely contain his amusement.

Kyouko glanced at her sempai who had turned around to hide his chuckles. Mistakenly thinking that Ren felt left out, Kyouko moved to his side and reached up to pat his head, too. Ren looked at Kyouko in surprise and finally burst out laughing.

Kyouko was surprised when Ren started laughing and it looked like to her expense. She crossed her arms and frowned at him.

"Did you come here to make fun of us? That's not very nice of you," Kyouko coldly said.

Ren quickly collected himself. "No, of course not. I would never intentionally do something like that to you, Mogami-san," he said earnestly. "It's just that I was feeling a bit down a while ago and you just cheered me all the way up again."

"How did I cheer you up? I haven't done anything at all," Kyouko said suspiciously.

Ren gave her a dazzling smile. "Just by being you," he said softly.

Yashiro saw Kyouko's eyes grow wide and her cheeks redden in reaction to Ren's statement. He could also see that Ren had realized he had set Kyouko's anti-love alarms on. Ren glanced away from her.

"You know, you three Love Me girls and Yashiro-san can do stand-up comedy. I promise I'll be your audience," Ren chuckled. Kyouko gasped in outrage.

'Good save' Yashiro thought. "Anyway, Kyoko-chan, " he said loudly to change the subject. " I would like to report that Ren has been skipping lunch these couple of days." He grinned evilly at his charge. That's for that stand-up comedy quip!

"Tsuruga-san! How could you! You should take more care of your body!" Kyouko scolded Ren as Yashiro nodded sagely.

"Since he didn't eat lunch today, maybe you should have dinner with him to ensure he eats a healthy dinner tonight," Yashiro prompted. "He never listens to me at all when it comes to food," he sighed theatrically. He gave Ren a thumbs up sign behind Kyouko's back. When Kyouko glanced away from him, Ren threw dagger-looks at his manager but maintained a calm voice for his kouhai.

"I'd love to have dinner with you, Mogami-san. If you're free tonight, that is," he said.

"We have to make sure you eat right, senpai. Sure, I'll accompany you to dinner. It would be better if I could just cook for you but I have an early meeting tomorrow with the president," Kyouko said determinedly.

"Looks like I'm bothering you…"

"No, no! I want to support my senpai in his career!" Ren and Yashiro was taken aback by Kyouko's fiery pronouncement. She hastily entered the Love Me room to change out of her jumpsuit after asking them to wait for her. As soon as the door closed, Ren turned menacingly at his manager.

"Yashiro…." Ren's growl was at odds with the gentlemanly smile pasted on his face.

"Good night, Ren! I just remembered I have an engagement tonight… a… a…. my aunt's getting married!" Yashiro giddily said as he scurried away. "Tell me all about your date tomorrow!" he called out as he disappeared at a corner. Did he just hear his manager giggle like a teenage girl? Ren shook his head. He'll strangle his matchmaking manager tomorrow, but tonight he'll do what his manager apparently wants him to do. That is, relax, forget about his problems and just enjoy the company of the girl he loves.

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_- Hi everyone! Thanks again for the kind reviews! I'm very grateful for all your comments. It makes me want to sit and write a bit longer, think a bit deeper… and question myself again and again what the heck I got myself into. Anyway, I really love hearing from you guys, so just keep those reviews coming!_


	5. Chapter 5

AGENT WALLFLOWER

_Kyoko has a journalist-friend? Everybody else is suspicious except of course, Kyoko. How do you protect a clueless actress with secrets from a possible enemy masquerading as a friend?_

Disclaimer: I do not own Skipbeat!

CHAPTER 5

Kyouko was pouting.

She looked so adorable with her lower lip jutting out and her eyebrows scrunched together that Ren wanted to reach out from across the table and pull her to his chest. Instead, he turned his attention to his plate.

"Tsuruga senpai, can you tell me what's so nutritional about Hamburger steak?" Kyouko asked with a frown. She gestured to their identical plates.

"They have carrots and celery as side dish," Ren replied innocently. "Besides, this is your favorite, right?" He popped a piece of celery to his mouth and gave her an angelic smile.

Kyouko could feel her mindset wavering and her chibi demons cringing in fear from that smile, but she rallied herself. "My favorite food is beside the point here! I'm here to make sure you eat properly. Senpai, you should've ordered something more nutritious," she said in an exasperated tone.

"Look, I AM eating, see? And I promise I'll eat all the vegetables to put your mind at ease, so could you please enjoy your hamburger steak?" he cut a piece of his steak and pointedly showed her how he was enjoying his meal. "It's very delicious…" he murmured temptingly.

Ren rather liked how Kyouko stared at his mouth, although he was pretty sure her thoughts were totally not the same as what he was thinking. She transferred her gaze down to her own plate and finally sighed.

"Okay, fine. But you have to eat that all since you ordered it!" she said threateningly, but the next moment she gave him a dazzling smile and dug in her food with gusto.

Ren smiled in satisfaction and concentrated on his food, too. "So how was your day?" he asked casually.

"It was fine… OH!" Kyouko's eyes suddenly widened and she cringed from him. Ren was immediately alert. Did something happen today to make her act guilty?

"What's wrong, Mogami-san?" he asked gently.

"Sen- senpai, I'm sorry!" she cried out. "Please don't hate me!" She was about to bow down in apology when Ren's hand shot out and blocked her forehead before she face-planted herself on the steak.

"Can you tell me first what's the matter please?" he said with a bit of exasperation. He withdrew his hand when it looked like she wouldn't be doing anything rash anymore.

Kyouko sat back up again, slightly blushing. She absentmindedly rubbed her forehead where Ren had touched. It seemed like a little electric shock had passed through from where he touched her and travelled down her spine. It was a bit confusing and she couldn't bring herself to look at him for a few moments.

"Mogami-san?" Ren asked concernedly.

Kyouko was suddenly pulled back from her daze. "Oh, right! I'm sorry, senpai!" she said in a panic. She hurriedly pulled her thoughts back together.

"I broke character!" she blurted out.

'What?' Ren wondered to himself. "Okay…" he said cautiously.

"What's worse, I was photographed!"

"You don't want your picture taken?" he asked in confusion. She's an actor, being photographed was part of the job.

"Naw! I was photographed while I was out of character!" she huffed. "I was supposed to be Natsu! Natsu doesn't smile like this!" She stretched her cheeks to demonstrate a comedic parody of a smile.

"No, I guess not," Ren tried to control his laughter. "When did this happen?" he asked.

Kyouko reminded him about their guesting in 'Tea talk' and the subsequent photograph in the newspaper. Ren remembered the article Yashiro showed him the other day.

"And the worst part is my picture is BIG! Bigger than yours, senpai! The nerve!" she angrily said.

Ren chuckled. "It's just a picture, Mogami-san. Do you think I'm so self-centered to get angry that my picture's small?"

"NO! I would never think something like that, senpai!" Kyouko cried in horror. "It's just that…"

"Thank you, I'm glad you don't," he cut in humorously.

"You… you aren't angry with me?" she timidly asked.

Ren shook his head. "Why should I be? As your senpai in the entertainment business, I'm very happy that people are starting to appreciate you. And wouldn't it be boring if all I see in the newspaper is a blown up picture of myself all the time?" he asked. Kyouko cracked a small smile. She imagined a whole newspaper that only contained full page photos of Ren. That wouldn't be so bad at all, she thought. Except you'd call it an album, not a newspaper anymore.

Ren was glad he was able to make Kyouko smile at last. He carefully thought about what to say before continuing.

"Mogami-san, I know how serious and professional you are about work. I would never get angry with you when I know you're giving your best. It's good to be true to your character, but you're still human. You're allowed to make mistakes. You shouldn't be too hard on yourself. And I was there, remember? I thought you handled things pretty well," he said gently.

Ren speared a carrot and nonchalantly inspected it as he spoke again, "And I really like the way you smiled in that picture. You should smile more often like that." He saw Kyouko freeze in place when he sneaked a glance at her. Her face had turned as red as a tomato. Looks like her self-recrimination has been forgotten in place of embarrassment.

She hurriedly grabbed her utensils and started eating to hide her discomfiture. "A- alright, senpai," she mumbled. "I'm sorry. Uh, no! I mean… you know what I mean!"

If Yashiro had seen how tenderly Ren was looking at his kouhai, he would have been shrieking like a fangirl right now.

The two continued eating in silence. Ren looked relaxed, but Kyoko felt like she should say something. His last comment kept bouncing around inside her head, making her feel inexplicably warm. She racked her brain for some other topic.

"Oh, I met my high school classmate today…"

-o-o-o-o-

Evening at the Tokyo Daily office.

Monobu sat haphazardly in front of Shio-san's desk. As usual, Shio-san was hard at work on her computer, but she didn't really mind Monobu's presence since he was so quiet, he might as well be air. Monobu held a notebook in his hands wherein he would scribble something every few minutes, but from the looks of it, his mind was elsewhere. When Shio-san stood up to refill her coffee, she leaned down to see what he was up to.

"Kyouko and Kyoko? What are you doing, practicing your penmanship?" Shio-san quipped as she read the two names that were written over and over again on the notebook.

Startled, Monobu almost fell off the chair. This guy dawdles in her cubicle and the goes ahead and forgets she's in here? Shio-san just raised an eyebrow at him before going over to the coffee maker.

"So did you want to talk to me about something? By the way, how's your article?" she asked as she poured more coffee in her mug.

Monobu shifted uneasily. "Errr… I have a problem with my article," he said.

"What? Sato-san told me that you were practically frothing in the mouth to write your breaking news story," she commented.

Monobu flushed. "My story's dead," he mumbled.

"Eh?"

Monobu grimaced. "I was supposed to write an article about that actress Kyoko and the singer Fuwa Sho."

"You see, I thought that Kyoko was someone I knew back in high school - a girl named Mogami Kyouko. I thought I could write about their…uhhh…" Monobu fumbled for the right word. "…relationship. But when I researched about Fuwa and Kyoko, the facts just didn't add up. And then I met Mogami-san again and she's nowhere like the Kyoko I saw the other day."

"So this Mogami-san is Fuwa Sho's girlfriend?" Shio-san said interestedly. "Sho is quite a playboy and has been reported to have dated a lot of girls, but I've never heard of him having a girlfriend. You can write about that," she suggested.

Monobu frowned at his notebook. Back in high school, Fuwa and Mogami had never acted like they were in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship at all. But then they had also run away to Tokyo together.

"Well, I… uh… I'm not sure about that, either. I think they were childhood friends though," he said.

Shio-san shook her head. A story about Fuwa Sho's childhood friend isn't something worth writing about, but if that childhood friend was someone who was also famous, then that would have been an entirely different matter.

"I see what you mean," she commiserated, patting his back.

"Why did you think that this Mogami-san was Kyoko anyway?" she asked as she sat down in front of her computer again.

Monobu reddened. "They… they have the same smile," he mumbled.

"And why did you think they're not one and the same?"

"For one, I saw Mogami-san clipping hedges early today," Monobu deadpanned.

"Oh," was all Shio-san managed to say. As a secret fan of Box-R, she was very familiar with Natsu. She could hardly imagine the elegant and refined Natsu trimming hedges at all. Monobu nodded knowingly as if he could read her mind.

The two lapsed in silence.

Finally, Shio-san stirred. "I'm taking that you don't have a backup plan?"

Monobu nodded dejectedly.

"If you want my opinion, I think you already have a story to dig up. Well, two stories. Judging by all those scribbles in your notebook, you're already very interested on the two Kyokos so you might as well write about one of them," Shio-san said matter-of-factly. "Kyoko is just starting to get popular so not a lot of stuff is known about her yet. If you can find out something more about her, the readers would love that."

She paused and looked at Monobu consideringly. "And then while you're at it you can also tell me all about this Mogami-san that seems to fascinate you so much."

-o-o-o-o-

It looks like today won't be going through as planned.

Monobu had come to LME determined to snoop around with the pretext of hanging around with Kyouko. He found her easily enough. It was hard not to when she was wearing the garishly pink jumpsuit and also since she was lugging such an attention-grabbing signboard with her.

He was having second thoughts about approaching her when she spotted him.

"Hi Wallflower-san! Are you here to hang out with me?" she asked cheerfully.

"I am not Wallflower-san, you are." he said brusquely. She wasn't listening to him though. She was having trouble holding on to the big signboard that was slipping from her grasp.

Giving in, he took it from her. "Here, let me help you with that," he said.

Kyouko smiled at him gratefully. "Thanks!" she said. "I'm going to the Tokyo station to meet someone for the President. Wanna tag along?" she asked.

So that was how Monobu found himself standing in the middle of Tokyo station holding up a flamboyantly gaudy signboard.

It even had neon lights and feathers on it. Passersby were looking at him strangely and he could see some of the guards creeping closer, suspicion clearly written on their faces. He dearly wished to be somewhere else right now.

He uneasily glanced at Mogami-san who was gesturing wildly as she talked to someone on the phone.

"HACHIKO STATUE AT SHIBUYA STATION!" Kyouko suddenly shrieked. Monobu watched with interest as the blood drained out of Kyouko's face. He wondered what she was discussing about over the phone that disturbed her so much.

Somebody suddenly grabbed his shoulder and Monobu turned to see a security guard's grim face. The guard glanced at the signboard.

"You're soliciting, aren't you?" the guard said.

Before Monobu could reply, he was swept away by a mini-tornado.

"Wallflower-san, we have to go to Shibuya right now!" Kyouko said urgently while tugging at his arm.

"For the umpteenth time, I'm not Wallflower-san, you are," Monobu distractedly said to Kyouko. Behind them, Monobu could see the guards running after them. Going to Shibuya seemed to be a really good idea at the moment. He quickened his pace.

-o-o-o-o-

"I'm going to be killed…" Monobu heard Kyouko mumble to herself. "I am going to be beaten senseless and then left on an alleyway to die a slow and painful death," she added morosely. Then she brightened.

"Maybe someone will find me in the alleyway and bring me to the hospital! Then Moko-san will come visit and shower me with love and attention!" she happily said.

Monobu didn't know what to think about Kyouko's mood. She was this way ever since they'd jumped inside the company car and sped over to Shibuya station. One minute she'd be angrily muttering to herself, and then the next moment she'd be gazing happily in a dreamy fashion. Then she'd repeat the whole process all over again. At least she'd explained to him the reason for their impromptu trip to Shibuya first before she lapsed to her weird mood cycle. Apparently, the LME president had changed the meeting place to the Shibuya station, at the Hachiko statue nonetheless. But she didn't explain why she kept muttering about being beaten to death. Were they meeting a mafia boss or something?

"You'll bring me to the hospital, right Wallflower-san?" she suddenly turned to Monobu as they were walking through the crowd.

"For the last time I'm not Wallf— okay fine, I'll bring you to the hospital if ever," Monobu threw up his hands in surrender. They stopped in front of the Hachiko statue. "We're here, so where's your guest?"

Kyouko and Monobu looked around the crowd. There were a lot of people milling around, but there was nobody that looked like he was waiting for someone.

"Maybe he wandered off while waiting? Let's look around for a bit," Monobu suggested when he saw the distraught look on Kyouko's face. Kyouko nodded and they split up to look.

As Kyouko looked around, she wondered how she'll recognize the missing guest. Takarada-san's description of the person she was meeting was so abstract, she still didn't know what to look for. She shivered involuntarily when she recalled Takarada-san's words.

"_He is more excitable than he looks. He may even give you a punch as greeting even though you are a girl."_ The LME president had said.

Suddenly, she noticed some people whispering and glancing at something near the benches. She curiously walked closer to have a look.

Kyouko paled when she saw what the people were looking at. There was a brooding man clad all in black sitting hunched on a bench. Passersby were giving him a wide berth because he was emitting a dark and angry aura around him. He looked like he was ready to whip out a knife and go on a rampage at that very minute. Scattered at his feet were a bunch of cigarette butts, proof that he'd been there for quite some time now.

Kyouko curled up in despair. This was unmistakably the man Takarada-san was talking about. She was definitely going to be killed.

But this was her job! That man is Takarada-san's honored guest! She had to gather up her courage and apologize for being late. She'll never be able to forgive herself if she chickened out now! Kyouko determinedly rose to her feet and took a step forward. Then she curled up in a ball again. She was still afraid of getting killed, she cried to herself.

Monobu had also noticed the curious behavior of the passersby and came to have a look. There was a small crowd forming around an area by the benches.

"Somebody stop that girl! Is she crazy?" somebody said as he walked by.

To his dismay, he saw Kyouko from afar hesitantly moving towards a scary-looking man sitting on a bench. He tried calling out to her but she was too far to hear him. He could only watch as she approached imminent disaster.

Abruptly, Kyouko stopped in her tracks and appeared to be acutely watching the man. Monobu sighed in relief. She must have realized the danger, he thought. Then suddenly, she started walking towards the man again in a much faster pace.

Before he knew it, Kyouko was beside the scary stranger and talking to him. 'Damn it, Mogami-san!' Monobu thought. He struggled through the crowd that had gathered around the spectacle. The man glared darkly at her and Kyouko took a step back looking frightened. She tried speaking again, but the man suddenly stood up to his incredible height. He loomed intimidatingly over Kyouko who was cowering by now.

"Ohmigod! Call the police!" a woman cried out fearfully.

The scary man took a step closer and Kyouko fell on her butt in terror. She stared up at him as if transfixed by his glare. Then the man moved closer and Kyouko cringed, expecting a kick. But he only stepped over her and sullenly strode away.

Monobu finally broke away from the crowd and hurried over to Kyouko.

"Are you okay?" he anxiously asked. Kyouko could only nod mutely in shock.

It took a few minutes and a bottle of water Monobu brought her before Kyouko felt fit enough to stand again. Her knees felt like jelly after that scary encounter and she still looked pale.

"I'll bring you home, Mogami-san. We've waited long enough, I'm pretty sure the person you're supposed to meet isn't coming," Monobu said gently.

"Okay," Kyouko meekly agreed.

Monobu led the way and kept a constant train of chatter as they walked. Kyouko was still a bit shocked so he understood when she kept quiet along the way. He glanced back to see the distraught-looking girl trailing behind him.

"The first time I came to Shibuya was when I was 11 years old. I wanted to climb onto Hachiko's back but my Mom wouldn't let me," Monobu prattled. "How about you, Mogami-san? Have you been here before?"

He looked back again when she didn't answer and abruptly stopped.

Kyouko had disappeared.

I

I

I

_Hi people! Not too much going in this chapter, sorry. I've recently become an unemployed bum taking a month long vacation at home before seriously starting to look for another job again. I thought staying at home would be a blissful & relaxing experience, but I found out that wasn't the case. There's SOOOO many chores to do! That's also the reason why it took so long for this chapter to come out._

_Review please!_


	6. Chapter 6

AGENT WALLFLOWER

_Kyoko has a journalist-friend? Everybody else is suspicious except of course, Kyoko. How do you protect a clueless actress with secrets from a possible enemy masquerading as a friend?_

Disclaimer: I do not own Skipbeat!

**Chapter 6**

President Takarada impassively watched the two hunched figures in front of him. His favorite Love Me girl squirmed under his gaze, clearly distressed, but the other person just placidly stared at him head on. Finally, the handsome young actor reached over and patted the girl's shoulder in a reassuring manner. The girl smiled up at him but kept twitching in place.

Takarada guessed he'd already made them stew long enough. He let out a small sigh as he lay the pipe he had been smoking down.

"Are you an idiot?" he finally said to Ren. "Why'd you reveal your disguise to her? You're supposed to be Cain Heel, the actor who's going to play BJ. This is supposed to be a secret, you know?"

"I'm pretty sure Mogami-san can keep this a secret," Ren said quickly, and then added in a sheepish tone, "I unexpectedly frightened her so much, I felt bad."

Takarada watched as Ren glanced fondly at the petite girl, although the girl in question was currently making watery puppy-dog eyes at him."I guess he couldn't stand Kyoko being afraid of him. Can't say I blame him, that's how people in love think, I guess," he mused.

Takarada shrugged his shoulders. "Well, no harm done. According to the report, Ren was able to fool everyone in the station so he passed the test," Takarada said. Kyoko heaved a sigh of relief. She hadn't jeopardized her senpai's role.

"But since you already know about this, I wonder if I can give you another assignment, Mogami-san," the LME President said to Kyoko speculatively.

Kyoko felt a weird chill run down her spine, but she rallied up her demons to gather up her courage.

"I'd be happy to do whatever you need me to do, President!" her bold statement was spoiled though by the quaver in her voice.

In response, a Cheshire smile slowly spread on Takarada-san's face.

"Good! Now I'd like you to meet someone first before I explain everything. There's some minor changes we need to do on Kyoko-san before we can proceed." he said happily.

o-0-o-0-o

Today was going to be a crappy day.

Monobu reluctantly crept forward, his steps weighed down because of lack of sleep and frayed nerves. His destination: the LME receptionist's desk.

Yesterday, he spent the whole afternoon and evening combing the Shibuya station for any sign of Mogami. He didn't realize how late it was until the last train left so he had to walk to the Tokyo Daily Buzz office which was fortunately close to the station.

He found Shio-san in the office and she suggested that, since it was already too late to call LME, he should try to get in touch with Mogami's friend, Fuwa Sho. Maybe he had an idea where Mogami can be found. At that time, Monobu felt that anything was worth a shot, so he His call to Fuwa Sho's manager last night had led to nowhere. Apparently, she didn't believe him at all when he said that he was Sho's classmate back in high school, and had refused to give the singer's contact number to him, or even answer if Sho knew where Mogami Kyouko was at all. He mentally cursed her for being too suspicious. He wasn't lying, and this was an emergency, damn it!

He had no choice left but to spend the night on Shio-san's office couch and wait for morning to report to LME.

So now here he was.

"H-hello, I'd like to speak to Mogami-san's supervisor," he hesitantly said.

The receptionist flashed him a peppy, professional smile. Maybe he was just feeling ornery, but the smile looked too fake and manufactured for him. It somehow grated on his nerves. His mind perversely compared the receptionist's smile to the blinding one of Kyouko's and he got more irritated.

"Good morning! You must mean Sawara-san. He's the Love Me Division's Manager. Gosh, he's got his hands full because of those girls! You're here because of Kyoko-san? Are you here to schedule an interview? So exciting! May I know from what company you're from? Oh, I haven't asked for your name, have I...?" she chattered as she reached for the phone and punched some numbers.

'Man, this girl could talk a mile a minute', Monobu rudely thought. He tried to follow her prattle, but his eyes started to glaze over after awhile. Suddenly, Monobu realized she had stopped speaking and was looking at him expectantly for an answer.

What was she saying again? "Oh, right... My name is..." he started to say when he was interrupted by a familiar voice.

o-0-o-0-o

Kanae tried to peel off the hands that were holding on to her arm, to no avail. She placed a hand on the dangerously close face instead and pushed it away. That got the desired effect.

"Ow! You're so mean, Moko-san! I just want to hug my best friend!" Kyoko complained as she massaged her nose and stepped away.

"I told you, stop doing that already!" Kanae scolded but relented a little when she saw the injured look on Kyoko's face.

Behind them, Chiori tried to stifle a chuckle, but it still came out anyway. "You should have learned that by now, Kyoko-san," she wryly said. Kyoko pouted at her.

"I'll give you a hug, onee-sama!" Maria declared, holding out her arms in front of the orange-haired girl. Kyoko gladly accepted and twirled them around the lobby, much to the little girl's delight.

Kanae rolled her eyes at Kyoko's antics and quickened her pace, half-trying to disassociate herself from the others.

"HEY! She's getting away! Catch Moko-san!" she heard Kyoko say, and glanced back to see Maria disengage herself to walk-race towards her. Even Chiori quickened her pace. Honestly, it's 'Tag Moko-san' now?! She put on a burst of speed in her step.

Suddenly, she was tackled from behind. "Caught her, Onee-sama!" Maria yelled gleefully.

"OOMPH! Maria!" Kanae yelped.

The impromptu wrestling match between Kanae & Maria was interrupted though by a disturbance at the Receptionist's desk.

When the girls curiously took a look, they found Kyoko being violently shaken by a man.

o-0-o-0-o

"Wallflower-san!"

Monobu couldn't believe his ears. He whirled around to find Kyouko smiling cheerfully at him, as if there was nothing wrong with the world at all.

" I'm so glad to see you here!" Kyoko cheerfully said to Monobu. "I didn't get a chance to say goodbye yesterday. I'm glad you're okay!"

Suddenly, all the pent-up worry exploded out of him. Kyoko was startled when Monobu stalked over to her with a scowl on his face. "Okay?! OKAY?!" he yelled out as he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her hard.

"I'm not okay! I've been worried sick, you know?! Where the hell have you been?"

"I've searched all over Shibuya station for you... ALL NIGHT!" he furiously said. "Did you forget that it was you who dragged me over there in the first place?! And you just upped and left me there to go God knows where?! You didn't even think to call me to let me know you're all right?!" he demanded.

"But I don't have your phone number," she timidly replied.

Monobu snatched the cellphone she was holding in her hand and punched his number. "THERE! You have it now!" he said angrily.

As he ran out of steam, he became aware of dark aura emanating from behind him.

"Are you BULLYING Kyouko-san?!"

"HARASSMENT!"

"I'm calling Grandpa!"

o-0-o-0-o

The next thing he knew, Monobu was in a locker room sitting in front of 3 irate females.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Wallflower-san, my classmate back in Kyoto," Kyoko sheepishly said.

"It's Monobu Kenta, you're Wallflower-san not m..." Monobu tried to correct her but one of the older girls made a threatening motion, so he clamped his mouth shut again.

"These are my friends Moko-san, Amamiya-san and Maria."

Monobu offered a weak smile at the girls but he was met with stony glares. As Kyoko tried to explain the reason behind the incident in the lobby, he inconspicuously studied them.

Perched on one of the chairs with her arms crossed adorably in front of her, Maria looked like an exquisite porcelain doll complete with long curly hair and extravagantly lacy dress. The look was slightly ruined though when she saw him staring at her and she rudely pulled down her eye and stuck her tongue out at him.

The girl Mogami-san introduced as Chiori-san was very cute but had a snobbish air around her. He could see that she had very sweet features although it was marred right now with a dark scowl.

The last person Mogami-san introduced as Moko-san was very beautiful indeed. She could very well be a model or a beauty queen with her long black hair and stylish getup, but right now she resembled an Ice Queen the most. She was the one who made a threatening motion at him.

Suddenly, Monobu realized that the two older girls looked very familiar.

"Wait! Aren't you in Box-R?" he blurted out at Chiori. "And Moko-san was in that commercial with Kyoko!" he pointed at the other girl in turn.

"Yes, so we were. What's it to you?" Chiori aggressively asked.

"Address me as Kotonomi-san please. Only SHE is allowed to call me Moko-san," the long haired girl told him in a icily polite voice.

"I don't like him!" Maria chimed in.

The increasing tension in the room was temporarily broken though when Kyoko clapped her hands delightedly.

"WOW! Moko-san and Chiori-san are famous! Wallflower-san said he's clueless when it comes to Showbiz, you know, but he recognized you two!" she happily crowed.

"But it's all because I've been watching videos of Kyoko," Monobu silently thought. The other girls seemed to get embarrassed with her fawning though, and that got him a break from the icy glares.

"Pretty soon, you two will be SUPERSTARS!" said Kyoko, starry-eyed.

"Okay, that's enough Kyoko-san," Moko-san said firmly.

Chiori tried to change the subject. "What is he doing here, anyway? Don't tell me that he's just here to visit you," Chiori asked.

"Oh, he's a reporter," Kyoko said airily.

The icy glares were back.

**Hi y'all! Sorry for the late chapter. I am now not entirely unemployed... well, it feels that way. I felt that working in an office doesn't suit me at all, so now I freelance for a living. It pays the bills and it's pure bliss not needing to answer to anyone (most of the time :D ) Thank you for the kind comments and reviews. I hope you like this recent installment! Please review!**


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